The Future Business Centre will provide space for about 50 charities and social-purpose organisations

The Future Business Centre

The social finance charity Allia has raised £4.2m of bond funding to pay for a specialist office building in Cambridge for charities and other social-purpose organisations.

The building, called the Future Business Centre, has already been completed at a cost of £9m, and its first tenants moved in this week. It will eventually provide space for about 50 charities and companies.

It has been paid for with a mixture of grants, donations and short-term loans, and the £4.2m bond will be used to pay off the existing debt.

The bond will pay an interest rate of 3 per cent, and will be repaid after five years. Most of the investment has been made by four local companies: TTP, Xaar, RealVNC and ARM.

Additional investments were made by the construction company Interserve, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce and local individuals.

"We’re delighted that these companies are using their success to invest in the next generation of up-and-coming social enterprises in Cambridge," said Tim Jones, chief executive of Allia.

"It’s a great example of how social investment can work where everyone benefits."

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